dass or das?
Tell the conjunction dass from the article, pronoun and relative das in seconds with one simple test.
Dass and das sound identical, so even native speakers mix them up in writing. The difference is their job in the sentence.
Dass links a whole clause; das points to a thing. One replacement test settles it.
dass: the conjunction 'that'
Dass introduces a clause after verbs like sagen, glauben, wissen and hoffen. A comma comes before it and the verb goes to the end.
Ich glaube, dass er recht hat.
I think that he's right.
Sie sagt, dass der Zug Verspätung hat.
She says the train is delayed.
das: three jobs
Das is the neuter article, a pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this', or a relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'that'. It always goes with a noun or points to something already mentioned.
Three kinds of das
- Articledas Hausthe house
- Demonstrativedas dathat one there
- Relative pronoundas Buch, das …the book which …
Das Kind schläft schon.
The child is already asleep.
Das weiß ich nicht.
I don't know that.
Das Hotel, das wir gebucht haben, liegt am Meer.
The hotel we booked is by the sea.
The replacement test
If you can replace the word with dieses, jenes or welches, write das. If nothing fits, write dass.
- dieses or welches fits → das
- Nothing fits → dass
- Clause after a verb of saying or thinking → usually dass
Ich hoffe, dass das Wetter gut bleibt.
I hope the weather stays nice.
Ich weiß, dass das stimmt.
I know that's true.
Common mistakes
✗
Ich weiß, das du recht hast.✓ Ich weiß, dass du recht hast.
A clause after wissen starts with dass.
✗
Das Buch, dass ich lese, ist spannend.✓ Das Buch, das ich lese, ist spannend.
Relative pronoun: you could say welches, so das.
✗
Ich denke, dass ist richtig.✓ Ich denke, das ist richtig.
Here das means 'that' and the verb is second.
Questions learners ask
Is there always a comma before dass?
Yes, a dass-clause is always set off by a comma, unless it opens the sentence (Dass du kommst, freut mich). In ohne dass or sodass, the comma goes before the whole pair.
What happened to daß?
The 1996 spelling reform replaced ß after short vowels with ss. Daß is the old spelling.